More Sudbury students to get Chromebooks

Thursday

Aug 21, 2014 at 8:00 AM

By Jeff MalachowskiDaily News Staff

SUDBURY – Based on the success of Curtis Middle School’s sixth-grade 1:1 pilot program last year, officials are eager to launch the program on a greater scale when school opens in two weeks.Throughout the summer, the district’s Technology Department worked with teachers in grades 6 and 7 to prepare for the launch. Superintendent Anne Wilson said Wednesday night the teachers and staff are ready and prepared to implement the 1:1 program on the first day of school Sept. 2."The Chromebooks are ready to go," said Wilson.With many school districts utilizing laptops and tablets to create a 1:1 relationship between students and teachers, Sudbury approved a pilot program last summer allowing sixth-grade students to utilize Chromebooks, a laptop with Google Chrome as its operating system, in class and at home to complete assignments and collaborate with their fellow students and teachers.With parents, students and teachers raving that the pilot program improved communication between students and teachers in and out of the classroom and allowed teachers to instantaneously review student responses to online questions, school officials opted to expand the program to grades 6 and 7 this year. A survey last year found more than 90 percent of parents and students had increased communication with teachers thanks to the 1:1 pilot program.The district plans to expand the program to the eighth-grade during the 2015-2016 school year.School Committee member Scott Nassa Wednesday requested district officials provide the School Committee with a quarterly update on the program's success throughout the year."A regular update on that would be great," said Nassa.Last month, committee members and school officials discussed charging families management and insurance fees for the Chromebooks. But they decided against implementing a fee next year so they can see how a larger group of students utilizing the devices handles them this school year and then decide if an insurance fee is needed.The district will cover the $28 insurance fee per Chromebook next year out of the schools’ technology budget, said Wilson.Of the 85 Chromebooks used during the pilot program, eight were damaged to the point they were unusable, while 22 were not in good working order, but could be used for parts.With the program in its infancy, school officials have also not yet decided whether students will keep the devices, which typically have a lifespan of three years, after they graduate from the middle school.Jeff Malachowski can be reached at 508-490-7466 or jmalachowski@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JmalachowskiMW.